Missed Your Chance
by curly1221
Summary: Post TWC. He had tried to plan it out, but never seemed to come up with the right way to get her back. Beck learns the hard way what happens when you hold off on taking action for too long. Two-shot. Rated T for character death
1. Chapter 1

Missed Your Chance

**A/N: Hello people! I've got writer's block with my other stories at the moment, so I decided to write a little one-shot. This is a type of genre that I've never done before, so let me know if it's any good!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious! Don't you think it would've lasted longer than this if I did?**

What were they waiting for? They all knew the truth; Beck still loved Jade. Jade still loved Beck. Everybody knew it except for them. Such stubborn human beings they were. Why couldn't they just kiss and make up like the last time they broke up? It wasn't hard, not really. To those two, however, it was impossible.

Beck had tried to move on, really he did. From his attempted kiss with Tori to a new date every now and then, he tried to forget about his first love, but to no avail. He couldn't stop thinking about her. It didn't help that he saw her every day at school. She would walk by his locker to get to class, not even bothering to glance his way. It was agonizing to watch her pass by him without a word. What was worse, she avoided him. Oh, how he hated that. He wished that he could talk to her again, to hold her hand and play with her hair, to kiss her and embrace her once more.

_One day,_ he thought. _I'll get her back._

As the weeks went on, he had still accomplished nothing. They were hardly on speaking terms and every time they were in the same room together, an awkward, tense air filled up the space. No one enjoyed it at all, especially Beck. He needed to end this soon. He wasn't sure how much longer he could take such torture.

_One day, she'll be mine again._

The months passed through quickly, each one as uneventful as the other. He hadn't made any progress. If it was possible, he did the exact opposite. Speaking? No more. If they were in the same room, the other would just get up and leave. It was terrible, just terrible. Yet, Beck was still determined to win back the Goth girl's heart. He just hadn't decided how or when yet.

_One day, we'll be together again._

It was a beautiful Saturday morning, just gorgeous; a light blue, cloudless sky with a refreshing summer breeze. Who could've asked for a more glorious day? Beck Oliver could have, for he got the call on that very day. It started off simple by him answering with "Hey, Cat. What's up?"

Instantly, the call went from plain to worrisome when Cat replied with a shaky, cracking voice. "I-I need you to meet me at the hospital. Now."

Beck sat upright from his bed in his RV, fully alert. "Why? What happened? Are you okay?"

He could easily distinguish a choked sob before she answered. "I'm fine! It's J-Jade! She's… she's… please, just hurry! I'll explain when you get here!"

Beck's body seemed to react before his mind registered all of this completely. After confirming which hospital to go to, he was speeding down the road to the hospital and running through the doors to find Cat and Robbie sitting in the uncomfortable waiting room chairs. Robbie had his arm firmly wrapped around Cat's tiny shoulders as the small red head furiously swiped at her eyes, tear tracks evident. When she spotted Beck, she jumped out of her seat, not in the happy bouncing way she normally would, and hugged his middle tightly as she burrowed her head against his chest.

Beck stroked her hair for a short minute until he pulled her away at arm's length. "Cat, can you tell me what happened?" he asked, trying to stay calm for the girl's sake. As she tried to explain what had happened exactly, her voice faded and she could eventually only produce squeaking noises from her mouth. Robbie got up and rubbed Cat's arm as he continued for her.

"Cat told me that Jade was over at her house when it happened. Apparently, Jade had been acting queasy and nauseous all day. She threw up a couple of times, I think. Cat tried to hug her or something and Jade was going to shove her off, but Cat's arm pressed against her stomach, which made Jade scream and nearly cry in pain. Later on, Jade passed out. Cat called me to pick them up and bring her here."

A knot slowly formed in Beck's throat and he found it hard to swallow. "Did you hear anything from the doctor?" Robbie nodded.

"She has appendicitis. She went into surgery about fifteen minutes ago."

Beck's heart dropped to the very bottom of his stomach. He knew that appendicitis could very well be deadly, but removing the appendix was one of the most common surgeries. He was sure it happened all the time, but he couldn't help but worry. Why did Jade have to go through this pain? How come it happened to her all of a sudden?

Instead of reacting to this news, Beck simply put on a blank expression and sat himself down in one of the chairs. Jade would be fine, right? She was strong. She could handle this with ease. By tomorrow, she would be walking around feeling fine and being her bitter self, right? All he had to do now was wait for the news of her recovery.

Within the next three hours, Tori and Andre had arrived, equally somber, Beck had played all the games he owned on his PearPhone, and Cat bought a snack from the vending machine down the hall. Eventually, Tori, Andre, and Robbie succumbed to their hunger and went straight to the cafeteria.

"You want anything?" Andre asked Beck. He shook his head.

"Nah, I'm good."

Andre sighed. "How long have you been without food, man? You gotta eat something." Beck still refused. He hadn't felt the need to eat. He wasn't hungry in the slightest, even though he missed breakfast from sleeping in too late that morning. As he thought about it, he hadn't eaten anything all day, yet he wasn't craving any food. How could he, with Jade still unconscious and probably getting cut open at that second. The very thought made him shudder.

"I said no." Beck replied, surprising himself with a harsh tone. Andre threw his hands out and muttered, "Okay, jeez." before stalking off to the hospital cafeteria.

Meanwhile, Cat was busy playing with her red-velvet cupcake hair and humming the tune to a random song. After about five minutes of this, she let go of her hair and asked "When do I get to see Jade?"

Beck ruffled her hair. "Soon. It shouldn't be too long now." His answer rang true when a portly looking man in his mid-thirties came out and walked over to them immediately. Beck assumed he knew they were with Jade since Cat came in with her and it was kind of hard to forget her hair color. Cat stood and smiled up at him with shining brown eyes.

"Can we see Jade now?" she questioned innocently. She hadn't noticed the doctor's grim expression.

"I'm afraid you can't see your friend at the moment." He answered shortly. Beck furrowed his eyebrows.

"Why? Shouldn't she be done with the surgery by now? It's been hours!"

The doctor sighed, bowed his head for a couple of seconds, and then tilted it back up with sympathy plastered across his face. "I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, but your friend didn't make it." He then went on explaining how the appendix ruptured before they had even started surgery and bacteria spreading throughout her entire body before everything shut down. He added that if they had arrived just a little bit sooner, she could have had a chance of living. After expressing his condolences, he walked away without another word.

Beck hadn't been listening to anything after the first sentence. It was all incomprehensible words. Jade didn't live? Those words didn't belong in the same sentence, it didn't make sense. Of course she lived, she's Jade for crying out loud!

_But she's still human, you already know that. She used to cry on your shoulder and she could have been in pain before, you remember._

It wasn't until Beck heard Cat's strangled sob that he was pulled out of his thoughts and gained a severe pain in his chest. It was as if someone had repeatedly stabbed him in the same exact spot with a sharp knife, twisting it deeper and deeper with every blow.

Cat had collapsed to the floor and held herself up with one arm while the other was tightened around her stomach. Tears were pouring down her face as she began to scream. "NO! NO! She's supposed to be okay! She's wasn't supposed to leave yet! I want her back NOW!" She turned to face Beck, who had sunken back into his chair and placed his head in his hands with his eyes shut tightly. He couldn't conceal his tears, which quickly dripped off his chin and onto his lap. Jade, the only girl he had ever (and still) truly loved, was gone. Dead. Out of his life forever.

He never did get the chance to win her back. They never became a couple again. He never got to tell her how much he cared about her, how much she truly meant to him. Of course, he really did have several chances, none of which he seized, and because of how long he held off on expressing his feelings for her, Jade died thinking she was unloved by the boy whom she had never _stopped_ loving.

As all these thoughts ran though his mind, Beck didn't notice the heart-breaking scream of anguish he was letting out until he realized he was receiving several looks of pity from the others in the waiting room. He didn't care about them, though. He needed Jade. He needed to hold her, kiss her hand, and stroke her hair. He had to let her know that she was loved.

_She's gone. _The words echoed in his head. _She's gone. You didn't tell her. She's dead now. You can't tell her anymore. She'll never know._

It took quite some time to explain what had happened in the amount of time that Andre, Tori, and Robbie were gone.

"What do you mean 'she's gone'?"

"No, you're lying!

"Stop! It's not funny!

Oh, if only it were a practical joke. Beck was desperate to believe that Jade paid the doctor to tell them she didn't make it just to see if anybody cared. He had actually started to believe that was the case, until the day of her funeral arrived four days later.

It was open casket; her parents had arranged it. They found out about their daughter's passing after a lady from the hospital called to inform them. They didn't even have time to react when the woman hung up.

Cat had made a speech that made just about everyone, including herself, burst into hysterical tears.

"The day we met in kindergarten, a bunch of older kids were picking on me and Jade told them to back off. She even threw a pencil sharpener at them! I wouldn't leave her only after that and eventually, she got so used to it that we would just march into each other's houses like it was our own. We were like sisters; inseparable. Then, a few years later, we both got into Hollywood Arts on the same day. From there, we planned the rest of our lives out together," she sobbed. "We were going to go on Broadway where she would write the plays and I would star in them and… and we would be bridesmaids at each other's weddings. Jade would yell at me and get annoyed with me, but she was still my best friend and I miss her so much." She choked on her words but managed to continue. "I'll never forget her or anything about her. I hope you can hear me, Jadey! I… I love you."

She proceeded to walk slowly back to her seat, but before she could make it all the way, she collapsed in a heap on the floor and bawled her large brown eyes out. Tori and Robbie walked over to her quickly and helped her up on her feet and half-dragged her to the end of the room. Tori's eyes were burning a bright crimson and her sniffles and choked sobs refused to cease. Robbie hadn't smiled since the day at the hospital and he was constantly found staring off into space as if in deep thought, tear tracks evident on his pale cheeks. He blamed himself, they all knew it. He thought that if he had driven just a _little bit _faster to the hospital, Jade would still be there.

Andre didn't speak much; he just bowed his head and listened. He stopped writing music, at least for now. All that he could think of was Jade and her beautiful singing voice. He had been in love with her at some time, but although he truly got over it, she was still a close friend of his and one he didn't expect to lose so soon.

Mr. and Mrs. West had hovered over their daughter's body for half of the funeral, their faces equally as pale as the young girl's. It wasn't until Mrs. West cried out in fury about how life was just a cruel joke that they were forced to exit the church.

Even Trina had attended the Goth's funeral. They were not friends in the slightest, but she came on behalf of her sister. She would be the strong one for quite some time, she knew that much. So the older Vega sister sat in her seat, quiet as could be, praying that life would get back to being close to normal soon.

Where was Beck? He was outside of the church in a small corner surrounded by trees that branched over him. Nobody would see him they weren't looking for him. He couldn't bring himself to look at Jade, his beloved angel, lying in a casket waiting to be buried. In the shade of the leaves, Beck was sitting on a concrete bench, rocking back and forth with slight motion and clutching a small, black ring hung around his neck by a simple black thread. He held it close above his heart with his head hanging down and brushed his lips softly over the ring, as if it would unravel at anything else. His face was wet with the never-ending salty tears streaming from his eyes to his burning red cheeks, his gaze never leaving the beloved circle object in his grasp.

"Why her?" he asked softly to no one in particular. "Why Jade? She had so much potential. She had a great life ahead, why was it taken from her?" He switched from speaking to no one to speaking directly to the deceased girl.

"Jade, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry this happened. I was going to tell you how much you still meant to me, I swear I was! I didn't know when the right time was, but if it weren't for my stupid pride, I would have told you any day!" A sob escaped his throat as he continued. "I love you; I've always loved you no matter how difficult things seemed to be. I just want to hold you again and be able to tell you that I'll always be there for you. I would do anything to get you back, God knows I would! I missed my chance with you. I missed my chance with the perfect girl and I can't tell you enough how sorry I am!"

As Beck sat alone on the bench, a warm breeze ruffled the leaves and made the grass sway, drying his tears from his face. "Can you hear me, Jade? I'll never stop loving you."

**A/N: Yikes, not my best. I didn't even cry while writing this, which must mean this wasn't as emotional as I thought it would be, but maybe you guys and gals liked it! Review please! Oh, and I'm saying this once: NO FLAMES! I don't know if I could extend this story or not, but if you want me to, I will! Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

Missed Your Chance

**A/N: So, I found out what to do with a second chapter, yay! Thank you so much for the kind reviews, I'm sorry if I made you cry! I just wanted to see if I could write something like this and apparently it's good enough, so thank you and sorry at the same time! **

** By the way, did you people watch "Opposite Date" last night? Oh, my Bade feels! I was fangirling and flailing my limbs and squealing at all the Bade, it was unbelievable! Plus, I absolutely ADORE the animal hospital scene with all the pet owners bothering Tori, Beck, and Jade. Extra plus, the Cade friendship was very funny! I LOVED THIS EPISODE! **

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Victorious.

A week had gone by since Jade's death; only three days after the funeral. The famous Hollywood Arts gang-their number lowered to five-hadn't seen each other since then. They figured they could take some time apart for a little bit, seeing how everyone was a total wreck.

Beck never moved from his R.V. The only time he got out of bed was to either use the bathroom or eat a small portion of the food his mother would bring him. The fact that she gave up on trying to talk to him was fine by Beck; he didn't want to talk anyway. All he really wanted was to be left alone with his ring necklace and the pictures of him and Jade that he never got rid of, not even after the break-up. He would stare at them and remember the moment when the picture was taken. He would remember how happy they were and how much he wished he could go back to that time. He could have had that back; the happiness, the love. He realized too late how idiotic it was to hold off on trying to get Jade back. He had to pay the consequences and he hated every second of it.

It was that particular Saturday that really got him feeling the worst he had ever felt in his life. Why? If he and Jade had never broken up, it would have been their four year anniversary. To say that he was feeling empty and lost was a major understatement. He felt that a part of him died along with his love and that he would do anything to follow. Sometimes at night, he would pray to the Lord to take him away in his sleep if it were possible. Either that or to wake him up from this horrific nightmare he was living in.

A knock sounded from the door across from him, but he didn't bother to get up. He figured whoever was out there would leave eventually. That thought was proven wrong when the knocking continued, sounding louder and louder each time until a small, squeaky voice asked, "Beck? Are you in there?"

All too familiar with the redhead's voice, Beck muttered a barely audible "Come in" without actually leaving the bed. He heard a creak of the door opening, tiny footsteps, then he felt a hand on his shoulder pull him up into a sitting position. Cat stared at Beck deep in his eyes, no words to come. They sat like that for what seemed to be forever until Cat said, "Come outside."

He was reluctant at first, but after she continued to stare at him with her sad, baby-brown eyes, he gave in and followed her. He didn't know where they were going; she refused to tell him. However, he soon found out when their destination came near. There was no doubt Cat would be taking him to the graveyard in which Jade was buried. He knew he would have to face this at some point or another, but he really wasn't ready yet.

"Cat," he sighed, stopping in his tracks. He briefly ran his hand through his hair before speaking again. "I'm sorry, but I really don't…"

_Slap!_

Cat had swiftly turned on her heels and swung her open palm out, allowing it to collide with Beck's left cheek. She had had enough of Beck holding off on visiting Jade. She couldn't take it anymore, so she let herself lose control for that one second. Beck turned his head to face her again; his eyes wide open in shock. The only other time she had ever slapped him was for a scene at school. Nonetheless, he was caught off guard. Before he could ask her why she had slapped him, she was already speaking.

"Beck, I'm so sick of you not going to see Jade! You weren't even inside the church at her funeral. I know how you're feeling about all of this, I do. I'm upset and I'm angry but at least I showed some respect to Jade! You, of all people, should know better!"

Beck hesitated. Was she calling him disrespectful? Was it a crime that he didn't want to watch his love being buried into the ground, never to be seen again? He suddenly filled with anger toward the small girl and growled his response.

"Well, I'm sorry I can't handle watching the girl I love declared dead to the world! Aren't you supposed to be her best friend? Why was it so easy for you to watch Jade leave this world?"

Beck struck her very last nerve. "EASY?!" she cried in outrage. "None of this was easy! How could you say that? I _was _her best friend! This is the hardest thing I'm going through right now! But instead of hiding from this whole messed up situation like you, I'm facing it! Now, you are going to go in there and find Jade's grave and talk to her!"

"I CAN'T!" Beck screamed, causing himself as well as Cat to wince at the sharp tone of his voice. "She meant everything to me! How am I supposed to let her go? If I go up there and find her gravestone, that just confirms that she's really gone!"

Cat laughed manically as she felt tears pool under her eyelids. "A gravestone doesn't confirm that she's gone, Beck, the fact that she's dead does!" she sighed and closed her eyes as the tears escaped. "Listen, you're the only one who hasn't truly accepted this. You know she's gone; seeing the gravestone will help you find closure."

There was a long, tense pause. After one minute of absolute silence, Beck broke it. "When did you become so wise?" he questioned with a sad little smile, the first time he's smiled since the incident. She opened her bloodshot eyes and returned the small smile with a tinier one.

"I'm looking at life at a different angle." She tilted her head to the side to prove it. He chuckled amusedly at her silly action before looking back toward the graveyard.

"Okay," he spoke suddenly. "Okay, I'll go find her." Cat nodded.

"Do you want me to come with you?" she asked, all traces of her fury replaced by concern. Beck only shook his head before making his way out to the wide field.

It was surprising how quickly he found the grave considering he wasn't even there when they buried her. Somehow, he let himself wander among the rows of headstones when he came across one that stood out to him. This particular one had a green-blue butterfly on top of it, fluttering its wings without actually flying. Beck approached the creature, but the second he came directly in front of the grave, it took flight and disappeared.

Beck looked down at the engraving on the stone. That's when his heart jumped straight up into his throat.

_Jadelyn August West_

_July 26__th__, 1994-September 15__th__, 2012_

_Loyal friend_

_Loving daughter, sister, and girlfriend_

_Graced with talent_

Beck read it over and over again. "Jade…" he whispered, his voice already fading out. _No,_ he thought. _Keep talking._

"I'm, uh… I'm really sorry I didn't bring you anything. Cat brought me and kind of took me by surprise." He ran his fingers through his hair and smiled lightly. "You know how Cat is." He cleared his throat and looked around awkwardly. He didn't know where to look or how to talk to someone who he couldn't see. After a couple of minutes, he decided to kneel down and look right at her name.

"I know that I should have been here for… this. I should have been with you during your last moments. I was just scared because… because I didn't want to let you go. I-I need you to know how much I love you and how much I cared about you. No matter what things seemed to be, I _always _cared about you." Tears were beginning to stream down his face by this point and there was no use in trying to stop them. "I know you cared about me, too. You showed it by being overprotective and jealous whenever a girl came up to me and I took it as annoying. I screwed up so badly and I just want to fix everything but I can't! I'm so sorry, Jade! I love you so much! Don't ever forget that, because I'll never forget about you."

After sitting in silence for a few more minutes, Beck stood up.

"Goodbye, Jade." Just as he was about to leave, the butterfly he had seen earlier flew back to the top of the gravestone. He knew it was the same one; no other butterfly could match the elegant, unique pattern of its wings. Slowly and gently, Beck stuck his index finger out to the creature as it inched its way forward. Soon enough, it had crawled onto his finger and batted its wings against his skin with such delicacy. He took a moment to admire its deep colors and the beauty of it all. It crept to a slightly higher point on his finger, tickling his skin as it did so, and then flew off one last time into the heavens. Beck watched as the rays of the sun seemed to dance upon this butterfly's wings, creating such a distinctive sight.

Without even thinking about it, Beck reached for his ring necklace and lifted it up as he carefully twirled it with his fingers. Not bothering to take his eyes off the butterfly, he gently pressed a kiss to the beloved ring, whispering one last thing before walking away.

"You mean everything to me, Jade. I'll love you forever and always."

**A/N: I had to add that last sentence in there because I was just listening to the song. Beck is quite the observer, huh? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! This concludes my sad two-shot, I hope I meet and exceed you're expectations, even though this chapter was sort of rushed. Thanks for reading and please review!**

** P.S. Was anybody else a little (or a lot) mad at Beck for saying that Jade walked out on him? Sure, I agree that what Jade did with counting ten and all that was just plain idiotic, but he's the one who didn't open the door.**


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